Reserved
by Softly Spoken Words
Summary: Inuyasha, a celebrity of simple tastes who hardly cares about anything enough to do more than go with the flow, knows he can count on his manager Kagome for reliability, predictability, and a job well done…and then he finds out he doesn't know her as well as he'd like to claim he does.
1. Ramen Enthusiasts

Reserved

Summary: Inuyasha, a celebrity of simple tastes who hardly cares about anything enough to do more than go with the flow, knows he can count on his manager Kagome for reliability, predictability, and a job well done…and then he finds out he doesn't know her as well as he'd like to claim he does.

AN: This is my first fanfiction in six years! Whoo it's been a long time... For any of my past readers who were waiting on my old story Take a Chance on Me, I am so sorry, but I couldn't work with it anymore. I have been struggling a lot in the creative department (as you can see, six years have passed), but I have high hopes for this new story! I hope you enjoy it. I also have another idea brewing and will probably post soon or mention it in an upcoming chapter to get your feedback on it.

One last thing: I am just going to say now that the summary, which can probably be read in a few different ways, is not intended to hint at any darkness in the story, and if you were expecting that, I am sorry to disappoint. I am a big fan of romantic comedy and fluff and after six years I don't think I'd be up for all that darkness yet. Given time, maybe? We'll see. Well, enough of my rambling… read on if you please, and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter One: Ramen Enthusiasts

"KA-OME," a loud voice hollered from the second story of the large mansion, mouth full of toothpaste, "WHEY ISH MY—"

The young woman scrolled through her iPhone, checking her emails and planned events for the day. "Top drawer in the dresser by the closet." _Need to reschedule that appointment to Wednesday…_ She didn't bother to yell back, knowing full well that the half-demon's superb hearing would catch what she said.

She heard the faucet turn off, a loud thud, a string of curses she wouldn't dare repeat, some more thuds, and the sound of a door opening. No thank you, but that was to be expected. She looked at her watch and whistled lowly. "You're ready _only_ thirty minutes after I told you to be. This is _marked_ improvement, Inuyasha."

The half-demon grumbled as he hurried down the stairs. "Bite me. It's too damn early for your sarcasm."

"Lucky for you, I know to set your deadlines well in advance." Kagome commented dryly. "Come on, the driver's waiting, and I know you don't want to be late for your commercial shooting!"

"Keh."

* * *

"_Gulp gulp_. I wouldn't be able to make it through an hour on set if I didn't have this stuff." Inuyasha held the bottle up to eye level, looked at it, and turned to look at the camera with a big smirk. "I'm an army of one, but I've got the strength of a band of seven. All thanks to Jakotsjuice!"

"And… CUT! Thank you Inuyasha that was great, darling, just fabulous!" The feminine man gushed and his red lips curled into a large smile. "It was everything I hoped for!"

Kagome watched in amusement as Jakotsu, creator of Jakotsjuice, fawned over Inuyasha and the latter met her eyes with a desperate plea. _Get. Me. Out. Of. Here._ It was no secret that Jakotsu was gay and had an enormous crush on the half-demon actor, and with a job as demanding as hers, she needed someone to humor her every now and then to give her a bit of a break. Now, she wasn't complaining. She loved her job, and she did it damn well. However, managing Inuyasha, one of the biggest action movie stars in Japan, was no easy feat. He was temperamental, stubborn, often childish, and gruff, and his personality required immense patience. On top of spending more time with him than anyone else in her life, she was coordinating all his professional and personal appointments, securing his sponsorships, rectifying false rumors, managing his social media accounts (the man would probably post about ramen and caption it "Keh" for goodness sake), managing _his _romantic relationships… The list goes on.

_Well I guess this is better than working at Totosai's ramen shop. The pay is _definitely _better._ Strangely enough, two years ago, Inuyasha had sat in a secluded booth in the aforementioned shop and gruffly asked her, head faced down towards the table, what she recommended. In retrospect, he had tried his best to conceal his identity that day; he wore a cap to cover his signature dog ears, sunglasses, and casual clothes. When she was unable to hear what he said, he moved his face up and repeated the question, and his figure tensed up as if he were anticipating a catastrophe to occur.

She gasped and he started to scramble out of his seat. "You have got beautiful eyes! Well anyway, to answer your question…" Puzzled, Inuyasha sat back down as Kagome went on to list the specialties of the day as well as some items on the secret menu. When she finished, she noticed the man before her had his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Is something wrong, sir?"

"You don't know who I am?"

"Um… You're a customer? A fellow ramen enthusiast? A—"

"Great. I'll have the specialty of the day."

When Kagome went to clean up his table after he left, she noticed the business card tucked under his finished bowl of ramen. "If you're tired of noodles, call this number tonight when you get off work. –Inuyasha"

She called later that night and found out she had actually served a famous action movie actor (and not some ordinary ramen enthusiast) and that he was interested in hiring her as his manager because one, she didn't fall all over him as many girls did, and two, because of her extensive knowledge of ramen. She accepted the position immediately, and she thanked her lucky stars that night that she had never grown a huge interest in action movies and was too busy working and going to school to watch the television. She also thanked the creator of ramen because really, she owed it all to him.

Her phone vibrated in her hands, bringing her out of memory lane and back to reality. On the screen it read: "Date with Yura. Buy basket of hair products on the way for stupid 1st monthaversary."

She gathered her things and started walking towards the exit. "Inuyasha, would you stop dawdling for once?! You have a date!"

The actor sputtered indignantly. "ME?! You were the one—Hey I was talking to you wench-!"

Kagome's exasperated voice rang from outside the studio door that was quickly closing. "See what I mean? Dawdling again!"


	2. Routine

A/N: Thank you for the reviews/follows/favorites, each one warmed my heart. I am going to be busy with school and so I will try to update as quickly as I can. Rest assured, this story will be completed! So without further ado, here is chapter 2!

* * *

Chapter Two: Routine

"Oh Inuyasha would you quit glaring at me?" Kagome said. "It's not like you see Jakotsu all the time, you can't blame me for wanting to humor myself a little."

"A little?!" His eyebrow ticked. "Fucking wench, you KNOW he gives me the creeps! Next time you leave me with him too long I'll fire you!"

By the time he said "A" she had already started ignoring him. She looked at the basket beside her, filled with hair care products for the current girlfriend of the action movie star currently sitting across from her in the limousine. _Hairspray, check… mousse, check… argon oil… texture spray… hair wax… dry shampoo… check, check, check. Why Kagome, you have done it again!_ The manager sighed happily to herself, eyes closed with a satisfied smile gracing her face.

Inuyasha's eye twitched. Not only was this wench ignoring him, she probably was doing that stupid self-praise thing. Curse him for letting her talk him into that stupid healthy living workshop.

"Oi! Did you hear what I said?!"

Kagome snapped out of her daily self-praise time and glared at him. "Yes, almighty boss of mine. You'll fire me next time. Funny that I've heard that the time before this, and the time before the time before this, and the time before that…" She counted off each time he threatened to fire her on her fingers. "Well look at that, I've ran out of fingers!" She giggled as the half-demon glared at her.

"You know, one of these days, you're really gonna regret leaving me with him." He grumbled and glared out the tinted windows, arms crossed over his chest.

She laughed at the disgruntled actor and moved to sit next to him. She reached up and tweaked his silver furry ear. "Yeah, and you're gonna regret threatening to fire me so much. You and I both know you can't get on without me. On top of that, you would miss me too much. And what's worse, you probably wouldn't even be able to maintain any of your relationships. So let's face it, you're pretty much hopeless without me Dog Boy." She stretched her legs out to the seat across from her and put her hands behind her head. Closing her eyes, she said, "Luckily for you, I am such a kind soul and can't bear to ignore the desperate pleas of help from a devastated soul such as yours."

Immediately, claws attacked her sides mercilessly, moving quickly but lightly to tickle the girl. Kagome laughed and managed to speak between bouts of gasps and laughter, "Okay… white… fl-ahhhg I SURRENDER!"

Inuyasha smirked and stopped his tickle attack on his poor manager, who was much more of a mothering best friend to him than simply a manager.

"You're a jerk, you know that?"

"And you're a wench, you know that?"

She beamed at him. "Yeah well, I'm _your_ wench, if that's any consolation."

"Yeah, yeah, I guess I'm your jerk too," he grumbled jokingly trying hard to suppress the smile threatening to turn at the corners of his lips.

"Aw come on, Inuyasha, I know you want to smile." Kagome put two fingers on either side of his mouth and pushed the corners up and saw a quick glimpse of the real smile on his lips before he furiously turned away from her.

"Dumb wench."

"_Your_ dumb wench." She corrected.

Kagome spared a side glance at the tinted window Inuyasha was facing and saw a little grin on his face. She smiled quietly to herself as she scrolled through the appointments on her phone. This was what they always did after Kagome had particularly antagonized the poor half-demon—the bickering, the threats, the jokes, the tickling, and the smiles. Always in that order.

Anyone looking in at the wrong time might think the argument was actually serious, but the two knew better. It was an inside joke, reserved just for them…

…And maybe the driver too. Drivers always seem to be very informed.

* * *

After dropping Inuyasha off at his date with Yura, Kagome returned to the actor's home. He had always been very generous, albeit through gestures and not verbally, about his home always being open to Kagome. She had her own room if she ever worked late nights, and the help around the house felt a lot more like family. Since her own was located an hour away from Tokyo, she didn't get to see them as much as she'd like, and it was nice to have a close bond with a group of people she saw frequently.

"Will you be staying the night, Miss Kagome? If so, I can ready your room for you," the elderly maid Kaede offered.

"You know, I think I will. It's pretty late and I'm sure Inuyasha will have tons to gripe about after this date." Kagome snickered to herself. "On top of Inuyasha never being able to keep a relationship, Yura is a freak."

"My twelve-year-old grandson has better luck with girls than that lad." Kaede smiled, a twinkle in her eye. "Though it doesn't surprise me, Inuyasha is rather hopeless without you."

"Oh, don't I know it! He is such a child! I was trying to—"

"Who's a child wench?!"

Kaede hurried up the stairs to Kagome's room, not out of fear of Inuyasha's wrath (because it was very shallow and short lived) but because she knew that once those two were in a room together, the presence of others would be quickly forgotten.

"Inuyasha, back so soon?" Kagome quickly evaded answering his question with her own. She gave him a sugary sweet smile that only deepened his scowl. "So how was the date?"

"Keh. I was getting tired of that girl touching my damn hair! And all her cleavage makes her look so cheap." He wrinkled his nose in disgust. "I told her I had an important business affair and I would call her later."

Code for: Kagome, do your magic. Meaning: Kagome, dump the broad. Do whatever you have to do. I'll give you a raise if it's a hassle.

"Really, Inuyasha?" Kagome let out an exasperated sigh. "It's only been a month…"

"A month too damn long. You know, if girls would just be like you minus the annoying, salary requiring, domineering, sadistic—did I mention annoying?—parts then life would just be so much easier."

"…Thanks for the backhanded compliment, jerk."

"Anytime, wench. Call her tonight please, before she finds some way to get a hold of my hair and do that creepy voodoo shit on me for breaking up with her. Even though you're technically the one who's doing it."

"You know, this goes against _everything _I stand for. Women should be treated with dignity and respect not as expendable sex objects!" Inuyasha looked at her pointedly. "…Fine, but I want Chinese for dinner."

"Sellout."

She smiled cheekily. "For damn good pay. And for that comment, you better get two orders of the honey walnut shrimp!"

He grumbled something about manipulative women as Kagome dialed Yura's number.

* * *

An hour later, Kagome and Inuyasha were seated on the carpeted floor of his room with Styrofoam boxes of warm Chinese take-out opened between them.

"You know, I don't think I get paid enough. I have to somehow manage to convince these ex-girlfriends of yours that you have their best interests in mind so that publicly, you're a nice guy, when in fact you don't really care about these girls and you're actually a real jerk sometimes—" She ignored the glare he shot her, "—when it comes to breaking up with girls."

"Keh. What'd you tell her?"

"Said you'll be busy with a lot of projects and that you wouldn't be able to give her the attention a woman like her so rightfully deserves. I also added that the phone call would have been too hard for you to make, and that your poor little puppy dog heart would burst into a bajillion Scooby snacks. She seemed to buy it enough." Kagome shrugged, popping a honey walnut shrimp into her mouth, either unaware of the glare Inuyasha was giving her or too accustomed to it to notice. "I don't think it phased her much to be honest. I was under the impression she already missed your hair more than she missed you." She snickered as Inuyasha shuddered.

They ate in silence for a bit before Kagome broke the solitude with a question.

"Say, Inuyasha, what are you looking for in a girl anyway?"

He eyed her suspiciously. "Whatcha asking for?"

"Well, all your relationships since I've managed you have failed miserably. I just wanted to know if there was a particular reason why. I mean you must not like something about them right? Maybe I could match you up with a nice girl!" _And potentially take some work off my load… Gosh Kagome that is two times today! You are just two clever for your own good! Ha, two not too! That's three! Stop, you're on a roll! _She mentally patted her back.

"Um… She has to be nice. And smell good. And not touch my hair too much." Inuyasha wracked his brain for more criteria. "And not be ugly." He smiled, obviously satisfied with his answer. "I guess that's all I've got right now."

Kagome's mouth twitched, whether from humor, incredulity, or both she wasn't sure. _He really is worse than a twelve-year-old…_ "Well I guess I have something to work with…"

"What about you?"

The question caught her a bit by surprise. "What about me?"

"Yeah, what do you like in a guy?"

"Well… He has to be funny for one. Nice, gets along with my family, is stable. Treats me well and rubs my feet after my long days working for a horrible boss man like you," she laughed as he growled. "And listens to me complain about said horrible boss man. Okay okay, I'm kidding! No tickling please!"

"That has got to be the worst answer I've ever heard. Possibly worse than mine."

She glared at him. "I'll get back to you with a better answer then, horrible boss man. It's kind of hard to be specific about what you want when you don't have much experience to go off of, you know. Though I don't think you could use the same excuse…"

"Keh. Who needs lousy experience when you can learn from others' mistakes?"

"Oh, that's right! Okay well in that case, I have a better answer. Someone who is the opposite of you!"

The tickle attack came the moment she finished saying the word "you."

"I-Inuy-yasha oh-kaaay… I'm so-SORRY! White flag! White flag! White flag!" He ceased his ministrations to give her a moment to catch her breath.

"That'll teach you, wench!"

"You wanted my honest opinion!"

"I am a decent guy you know!"

"I think boy would be the more accurate term for you!"

Kagome saw Inuyasha's golden eyes gleamed mischievously and his clawed hands raised with evil promises of tickle torture.

"Okay truce, I don't know how much more I can take today! How about… anytime I think of something serious I'll let you know? And you let me know, too."

"Keh." That was as good as any yes to Kagome. Yet another ritual added to their routine with each other.

"Well if you're done attacking me, I'm heading to my room to sleep. It's been a long day and we have a full day ahead of us tomorrow!" She cleaned up the empty boxes of food and got up, pausing to throw away the trash in the bin near the door. She turned and flashed Inuyasha a smile. "Goodnight, jerk."

He appeared to be sleeping on the floor, eyes closed, hands resting comfortably over his very full stomach.

She shook her head and laughed quietly to herself. "Food coma already? Fat dog."

"_Your_ fat dog." The half-demon murmured and opened one eye as he watched Kagome walked out of the room giggling.

_Damn girl giggles at everything I say. Hm. Guess that means I'm funny…_

He fell asleep not long after, a small corner of his mouth quirked upwards.

* * *

A/N: (The line break won't insert here properly, it is driving me nuts! -_-) As always, reviews make an author happy! Constructive criticism definitely welcomed. Hope you all enjoyed chapter two. I apologize for the lack of action, but I do need to establish some things and I want to make sure that things seem realistic and nothing is too rushed.

-SSW


	3. Time is Money

A/N: Sorry for the long wait! I was so thrilled to see the response after posting chapter two and I can only hope you all will be as responsive with this chapter. Thank you to all those who reviewed/followed/favorited and a special thanks to loyal reviewers ^_^ I also posted another story last month and it would be great if you all took a look at it! It's a collection of related one-shots, featuring Inuyasha and Kagome, titled _Buddy System._ Onto the chapter!

* * *

Chapter 3: Time is Money

Kagome shifted around in her seat, feeling her bottom start to get sore from sitting around for too long. She hated when Inuyasha was on set filming because she was bored, but she loved it at the same time because she had so little work to do.

She eyed the platter of donuts to her right. Well, she was doing _some_ work. Eating donuts required exercising her mouth. No easy feat, if she were to say so herself.

Taking a large bite out of a glazed donut, she watched as Inuyasha fought Koga Ookami, another action movie star, on set. The media always pinned the two as rivals when the bond between them was closer to that of cousins who were the same age and were always compared to one another_. Hate… hate… hate… tolerance. Yeah, that pretty much sums their relationship up. And if I were to even suggest that they tolerated one another, they would go right back to being hateful!_

"Enjoying that donut, I see," a male voice playfully chuckled in Kagome's ear.

"Bankotsu! Would you quit sneaking up on a girl like that?" Bankotsu, one of Jakotsu's six brothers, was the screenwriter of the film Inuyasha was currently sparring Koga for. He was a devilish sort of handsome, with long black hair usually braided down his back, and a perpetual smirk on his face.

"I like it when you're flustered," he winked.

Kagome slapped him playfully. "Oh quit it, will you? Why don't you go hit on some other helpless manager?"

"So you admit you're helpless to my charms?"

"More like helpless to feeling sorry for how lame you are," she stuck her tongue out at him. "Come on, Bankotsu, I am trying to enjoy my donut here!"

He laughed. "Alright, alright. So how have you been, 'Gome?"

Though he always made a pass at her, Bankotsu was a great conversationalist. The two were actually rather good friends, seeing as they ran in the same circles. "I've been alright, Bankotsu, busy managing Inuyasha over there as always. You know that's a 24/7 job." She laughed. "How are you?"

"Well, Renkotsu has been running with the wrong crowd lately so it looks like one of us will have to bail him out of jail... again. I'm working on a new script for another movie by Midoriko. The movie is going to be called _A Feudal Fairytale_ I think. I'm pretty excited about how it's coming along so far!"

"I'm happy for you. I can't wait to see the finished product. Will Inuyasha be starring in this one as well?" It was known that Midoriko had a soft spot for the half-demon actor and tended to cast Inuyasha as her male protagonist in her movies, the current one they were on set for included.

"It's not set in stone… But you know there's a 99% chance that he will be."

"Figures." She laughed.

A comfortable silence fell between the two of them as they watched Inuyasha and Koga fight one another against the green screen.

"So…"

"So…?"

"I was wondering what you were doing Friday night."

Kagome blushed. "I mean, I have to see if anything comes up with Inuyasha. It's only Monday, so there's still time for someone to schedule something…"

"How about Wednesday?"

She eyed him suspiciously, blush still in place. "Are you trying to ask me out on a date?"

He laughed confidently. "I've only tried for the past two years." At this, she blushed. She could be pretty dense when it came to guys, and he found it utterly adorable. "Come on, how about Wednesday?"

Kagome took out her phone and checked her schedule for Wednesday. "Looks like I'm only free from noon 'til 2 p.m. That enough time?"

"Plenty." He smirked and gave her a wink. "I'll pick you up?"

"Inuyasha's place."

"Okay, I'll pick you up at 12 from Inuyasha's. See you 'Gome." He smiled at her, rather than smirked, and she felt her stomach flip flop a little.

She bit into her donut, slightly stunned by what had just transpired between the two of them. _He's been trying to ask me out for two years? Either I am dense as concrete or he has a horrible way of framing questions…_

* * *

Inuyasha looked up from his place on set and saw Kagome laugh and then later blush as she talked to Bankotsu. He growled in his chest and narrowly missed a punch from Koga. _I hate that bastard…_

Now, Inuyasha had his reasons for feeling so strongly about Bankotsu:

One, he didn't like Bankotsu because the prick was related to creepy Jakotsu.

Two, Bankotsu was distracting Kagome from her job. She wasn't on set just to eat donuts and sit around all day!

Three, Bankotsu was just the epitome of bastard…li-ness…

His ears strained to catch tidbits of their conversation. He was able to make out "'Gome," "Inuyasha," "schedule," "Wednesday"…

Was that bastard trying to ask Kagome out on Wednesday?! And damn it, would he stop calling her 'Gome?!

_No way that's gonna happen! The wench needs to do her job. Wednesday is still a workday, and I don't pay her to go on dates with annoying screenwriters!_

He growled and tried to focus his mind on the task at hand before Koga showed him up on set. He was _not_ going to be made a fool by this wimpy wolf because stupid Kagome wasn't doing her job!

He made up his mind. Something had to be done. He would have to figure out what the plans for Wednesday would be and then make sure Kagome didn't have any spare time to spend with stupid Bankotsu.

After all, time is money, and his money is precious.

* * *

"Oi, Kagome, what's the schedule for Tuesday?" Inuyasha congratulated himself for being smart enough to ask about Tuesday first, so as not to be arouse his manager's suspicion.

"Well, first you've got a press conference at 11, then…" He tuned her out as she spoke, checking a text message that appeared on his phone.

'_Hey, Inuyasha! The school is hosting a fundraising event on Wednesday, and it would be a great help if you could come by for even a little bit. It ends at 5 p.m. I know you're busy filming and all, but maybe you could find some time to fit us little people into your schedule :P –Sango'_

"…and lastly you've got a business dinner with Hojo at 6:30, to discuss a potential advertisement deal."

"How about Wednesday?"

"Well, you're gonna be on set from 9 until 12. Um… We're both free from 12 until 2… and you've got a photoshoot for GQ at 2:30, then—"

"We're not free from 12 to 2 anymore!"

Kagome looked puzzled. "Huh?"

"I… uh… I'm going to volunteer. At Sango's school! From 12 'til 2. She said she has a job for you, too, if you weren't busy." He looked at her square in the eye, so she wouldn't call him out on his bluff.

"You want to volunteer… at an elementary school…"

"Yeah well, I figured it would be nice to have fans of all ages—would you quit looking at me like I grew purple stripes on my face or something?!"

Kagome laughed. "I'm sorry, it's just very strange to hear you say such a smart reason for doing something so uncharacteristically charitable of you!" She held her hands up in defense. "Okay, tell Sango I'll help out with whatever she needs me to." _If Bankotsu can wait 2 years, he can definitely wait 2 more days. These kids are way more important than some date._

Inuyasha texted Sango back. '_Kagome and I will be there from 12 til 2. –Inuyasha'_

After sending the message, he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Kagome's message to Bankotsu. '_Hey Bankotsu, I'll have to call off our lunch date on Wednesday. I'm gonna be volunteering with Inuyasha to help a friend out. I'm sorry :( Reschedule?"_

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed at the last tidbit. Now, he would have to find some way to make sure the damn wench wouldn't be wasting his precious time and money whenever this rescheduled date would come up. Would his work ever end? Leave it to him to choose a ramen waitress for his manager…

He grumbled outwardly, but mentally, he rejoiced. _At least for now, Inuyasha: 1, Bankotsu: 0._

* * *

A/N: I know this is a bit short, but it's more of a filler chapter. Again, sorry for the late update! I know where I'll be going with the next chapter, so I don't think you'll be waiting as long. Let me know how you liked the chapter :)


	4. Change and Consistency

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I seem to find that the less things I have to do, the less productive I am… *insert sheepish grin here* I also went back and fixed little typos in my chapters (no major changes to the plot or anything, just tiny mistakes here and there), which is probably a con of feeling inspired late at night to write my chapters *insert another sheepish grin* Sorry again, and enjoy! Thank you for all your feedback! :)

* * *

Chapter Four: Change and Consistency

"Hey, Inuyasha! Hi, Kagome!" Sango called out, waving at the two.

"Sango! I haven't seen you in so long! I've missed you!" Kagome squealed, hugging the elementary school teacher. Inuyasha gave his longtime friend a nod in acknowledgment, not one for showy public displays of affection.

He coughed to bring the two girls' attention back to the situation at hand. "So what do we gotta do for the twerps?"

Sango's eyes narrowed but she didn't comment on the actor's choice of words. "Well we have a little carnival set up with some of your typical carnival booths. Carnivals like these can get pretty profitable if we have enough people here and a… special attraction." She gave Inuyasha a secretive smile. "You'll be at the water dunking booth, Inuyasha. Ah ah-! No buts! It's only two hours, which is a relatively short gig for you. Kagome, you'll be helping me face paint over there."

"Oi Sango! Why do I have to work the water dunking booth?!"

Sango and Kagome walked away from Inuyasha and towards the face painting booth. Sango gave a long sigh, rolled her eyes, and called over her shoulder, "We both know you aren't great with kids—"

"—and women," Kagome interjected and then pondered that thought for a second. "Or people in general for that matter…"

"I needed to find something that would require very minimal communication with people. You know, I was only thinking of _you_." And with that, both girls laughed and walked arm in arm away from the grumbling half-demon behind them.

"Why did I even agree to this in the first place?" Inuyasha's eyes wandered over to the two girls before they rested on Kagome. _Oh yeah_.

Said girl met his gaze with a playful look in her eyes. "Better get to your booth Inuyasha!"

"Keh," he muttered, but he walked towards the booth with a small, satisfied smirk on his face. _Water dunking or not, at least she's spending her time with me and not that bastard Bankotsu_.

* * *

An hour had passed by quickly, and Kagome was thoroughly enjoying her job of painting the faces of all the children and occasional adults that came to her side of the booth. "If only this could be my day job," she said jokingly to Sango, who was seated on the other side of the small tent, as she cleaned off her paint brushes. She tried to clean them after every two customers so that the brushes wouldn't get clumped up with dry paint.

"I would hope not. If it was, I wouldn't be able to see you as much anymore."

Kagome looked up in shock. "Bankotsu? What are you doing here?!"

"I figured since you couldn't make it to our lunch date, I should bring it to you," he said with a slight smirk. "I hope you like turkey. I tried to go with the safest choice."

Kagome blushed and shot a quick glance at Sango who was mouthing what seemed to be encouraging words and gesturing Kagome to pay attention to Bankotsu. "I-I can't believe you're here!" She giggled and blushed even more. "How did you know I would be here?"

"Well anything that Inuyasha does is pretty high profile, you know."

"Oh yeah... Well I've got to run in an hour and I need to be volunteering for the two short hours I'm here, Bankotsu. Even if Sango were to give me a break, I wouldn't feel right. So as much as I appreciate you taking the time to come and surprise me I don't think I can eat the food… Thank you again Bankotsu. I'm really sorry."

He sighed dramatically. "It seems like we have a bit of a predicament, don't we? Well I have an idea, if you'll entertain me, my lovely date." He said with a quick wink at which she blushed, and he gave a satisfied smirk.

"I think I could do that," Kagome replied with a tentative, but flirtatious smile of her own.

"Well, I was thinking that I have this turkey sandwich intended for a beautiful girl, but she has to paint faces for the next hour. So I was thinking: why not kill two birds with one stone? While this beautiful girl paints my face however she wants, I can feed her the sandwich. I mean, my hands are free anyway." He maintained eye contact with her the entire time, and his confident manner sent her stomach in flip flops. "What do you say?"

Her voice came out barely over a whisper. "I could manage that."

"Great."

So while Kagome painted Bankotsu's face much like a tiger's, he would hold the sandwich up to her mouth and then wait until she was done chewing and swallowing before offering another bite. He would gingerly wipe away any bits of food by her mouth with a napkin and chuckle lowly at her almost incessant blush.

Forty minutes passed by rapidly as they talked about their families, jobs, interests, likes, and dislikes. Kagome consumed the last bit of her sandwich and almost wished there was more food, just so Bankotsu would stay longer. The conversation was effortless, fun, and interesting. There was so much she didn't know about him, and him her. It was exciting, refreshing even, to talk to someone who she still had more to learn about. _Unlike Inuyasha… I know that guy like the back of my hand._

As she hugged Bankotsu goodbye and coyly whispered a soft thank you in his ear, Kagome was unaware of the pair of golden eyes that watched her every move with an utterly horrified look.

* * *

It was bad enough that he was stuck in this stupid tank.

It was bad enough that he could do nothing about the many children and adults who came to try their hand at dunking the great Inuyasha—the strong half-demon actor who performed all of his own stunts.

It was bad enough that he didn't have a single soul to complain to, because the minute he would open his mouth, the board would slip out from underneath him and unceremoniously drop him in the water.

But just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, Bastard showed up. _I don't even want to call him by his name. Bastard._

Inuyasha couldn't help but watch Bankotsu and Kagome flirt. _Oh god is she really flirting with him? Is the wench _blushing_?! _He wanted to physically gag. _This is fuckin' nasty… GET A ROOM WOULD YA! We're surrounded by kids for God's sake!_

He refused to acknowledge mentally that the closest the two got to being inappropriate was when Kagome's lips would lightly graze Bankotsu's fingertips. He was pretty sure feeding another person counted as PDA. Even if said other person was unable to eat at the moment. Helping someone else could still be considered PDA damn it!

After what felt like an eternity, Bankotsu was finally getting up to leave. _About fucking time!_ Then Kagome hugged Bankotsu, and with her body already pressed flush against his, leaned up to whisper something in his ear. Inuyasha's eyes almost bugged out of their sockets. Was she really being all… whatever she was being right now? Right here? He didn't even know the word to describe it because he had never seen her act like _this_ before! All he knew was that it was really, really creeping him out.

_Thud! _

_Splash! _

Inuyasha couldn't have been happier to be dunked into the water at that moment.

* * *

After Inuyasha dried off and he and Kagome said their goodbyes to Sango, the two quickly headed into his limousine.

"Well that wasn't so bad was it?"

Silence.

Kagome peered up from her cellphone at Inuyasha. "You better not be ignoring me, you jerk!"

Despite the fact that she called him a name, it still quelled his bad mood a bit, only because he knew what was behind that name. "Keh. I guess it was alright. It's a pain in the ass to get all that water out of my ears though."

"Face painting was pretty fun."

"Oh yeah?" He tried to say noncommittally, scrolling through his own cellphone as well. "Looked like Bast—Bankotsu showed up."

"Oh, you saw that? Yeah, um, he came to visit me." Kagome blushed. "He didn't stay too long."

"Uh I see. That's… nice." He really didn't know what to say. He wasn't like one of her girlfriends who would grill her for all the juicy details of their forty minute rendezvous because quite frankly, he didn't want to know more than he already witnessed for himself. Besides, it's not like Kagome would appreciate him calling the guy a bastard and saying he didn't particularly care for the bastard's presence. Or existence for that matter.

Kagome didn't seem to notice Inuyasha's failure to be a good friend to her. "Yeah. It was nice." She smiled.

He almost physically gagged again.

* * *

Inuyasha's phone vibrated on his dresser. "Who the fuck is texting me at 1 a.m.—"

'_Spontaneity_.'

Sometimes, Inuyasha seriously questioned why he hired Kagome in the first place… '_You better not have woken me up to text me one damn word. I'll fire you wench.'_

'_I would like a guy to be spontaneous. Keep me on my toes'_

'_Is that the first on the list?'_

'_Yeah. Told you I would tell you if anything came to mind :)'_

'_Keh'_

'_Sorry if I woke you up. I'm really awake right now haha. Goodnight Inuyasha.'_

'_Goodnight wench.'_

'_Your wench, jerk.'_

'_Your jerk, wench.'_

* * *

A/N: I hope you all enjoyed! All feedback is appreciated.


	5. Same Difference

A/N: **PLEASE READ!** So a couple of things have been brought up in the reviews concerning Inuyasha and Kagome's relationship, and I would like to clarify them. At this point, no they do not like each other. Inuyasha is thoroughly grossed out by Kagome's flirtatiousness because he hasn't seen her act this way before. Think of seeing your parents act like lovesick teenagers—his reaction is a bit like that. If any of this sounds new, please go back and re-read chapter four, especially the sections more focused on Inuyasha's perspective. It'll give you a better idea of how he feels about Kagome at the moment. I have no intentions of rushing anything. If there are specific incidences where things seem rushed, please do tell me. I am always looking for ways to improve my writing, and I would like you all to enjoy it as much as I do. As always, thank you for all the feedback (I get so excited reading each review) and enjoy!

* * *

Chapter Five: Same Difference

"Oi, wench. Something looks different with you today. What is it?"

Kagome rubbed her glossy lips together and shifted her eyes away. "Um… I wouldn't know. Good different or bad different?"

Inuyasha eyed his manager suspiciously and furrowed his brows. "Keh. Different is different right? So same difference."

Kagome rolled her eyes at Inuyasha's logic. "You are such a dope," she giggled.

An hour later, she found herself watching Inuyasha back on set filming another sparring scene with Koga again. Knowing she would see Bankotsu here, Kagome had taken a little extra care with her appearance that morning. It had been two weeks after he surprised her at the fundraiser for Sango's school, and they had yet to go on another date. He had kept in touch with her throughout the time with text messages here and there, always having a smart remark to say or asking how her day was. She was crushing, hard. She couldn't help it though. He was just so… She couldn't articulate what exactly it is that he is, but she knew she liked it.

So that morning she had put on a bit of makeup—not too much, but definitely enough to warrant a second glance. She wanted Bankotsu to notice, and she wanted him to ask her out again without her having to express that desire.

She was sitting in a seat not too far from the set, and she had been eyeing the door—she hoped inconspicuously—every few minutes or so to see if the handsome writer had walked in.

_Kagome, stop it! You're acting like a teenager. Get a grip!_ She mentally berated herself.

When Bankotsu finally walked through the door, it took all Kagome could to keep her heart from leaping out of her chest. She quickly averted her eyes from the entrance and tried to look as if she didn't see him walk in.

"Kagome," Bankotsu said and before she looked at him, she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Hi, Bankotsu!" Kagome chirped with a small smile. "How are you?"

"Great, now that I've seen you," he said, smooth as ever, and her heart melted. "How has your morning been so far?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. Following Inuyasha around while he does his famous actor stuff."

"What are you up to after?"

_Yes! _She mentally cheered. _Score!_

"I, uh, I'm not too sure. Let me check." She whipped out her phone and scrolled through her schedule that day. "Looks like Inuyasha is going to meet with the head of a clothing line to possibly represent them, and he's having dinner with an old family friend who's in town."

"Well, he doesn't need you for that, does he? He's a big dog."

Kagome didn't know whether to laugh or scold Bankotsu for mocking Inuyasha, because she knew he hated those who talked about him condescendingly and that he had no soft spot for Bankotsu. She gave a small laugh. "It's just that I usually go with him to things like that, you know, even the dinners because he likes having someone else there to suffer with him."

Bankotsu gave her a look that clearly conveyed his desire to whisk her away for the rest of the day. "Oh come on. You're great to have around, but Inuyasha has got to share you sometimes. I hardly doubt 24/7 companion is in your job description."

"It might as well be." She laughed. "He really is a great friend, you know. He grows on you."

"I'm sure he does, but that's not the person I have in mind," he said with a charming smile. "Play hooky for a day, will you? Like you said, tagging along with Inuyasha is what you usually do. Why not do something a little out of the ordinary?"

And though this wasn't the most impulsive thing in the world, Kagome stared deep into Bankotsu's dark brown eyes and felt as though this moment was everything. She could sit there and be Inuyasha's manager like she had for the past two years or she could finally do something for herself. She hardly saw her family nowadays, and it wasn't like Inuyasha really needed her there. She was just a security blanket for him, and she was always bored out of her mind accompanying him to dinners and meetings.

"Okay." She said with a firm nod.

"Okay?"

"Yes. When Inuyasha gets off set, I'll tell him I'm taking the rest of the day off."

"Why wait? Let's go now."

* * *

"Where the fuck are you?"

"_I took the day off, Inuyasha. I do need time for myself too!"_

"You're supposed to be here! I don't even know what my next engagement is!"

"_The schedule on your phone is synced to the one on mine, Inuyasha. I did it last week, remember? You're meeting with the Thunder brothers and having dinner with Myoga."_

"You're still supposed to be here! I don't pay you to fucking ditch me when you all of a sudden feel like it!"

"_You don't pay me for half the things I do for you, but I do it anyway! You don't need me there Inuyasha!"_

He heard a man's voice in the background and Kagome quickly hushing said voice. He felt his blood boil. "Don't tell me you're with that fucking bastard Bankotsu."

"_Inuyasha, it's none of your concern who—"_

"Are you with him right now?!"

"_So what if I am?!"_

"You ditched me to hang out with that bastard?! You had plans with me first! You always have plans with me first! You know I hate small talking with people I just meet and I can only handle Myoga for so long. That's what YOU'RE supposed to be there for! That's why I fucking hired you! Instead you're doing who knows what with that annoying ass writer!"

"_I decided I needed to do some things for myself! Everything I do always revolves around you, Inuyasha! I have a life too!"_

"Whatever. I'll fucking see you tomorrow then."

"_You know, whenever you do _anything, _I always understand, but when I decide to do one thing that's out of the ordinary, you throw a hissy fit. You're a real class A jerk, Inuyasha."_

This time, the word that usually brought a sense of comfort instead brought feelings of guilt.

The dial tone rang loudly in his ears.

* * *

Kagome huffed as she hung up the phone, too angry to be embarrassed that she was fighting with Inuyasha so loudly over the phone in the middle of the sidewalk. Passersby avoided her largely.

"Is everything alright Kagome?"

"Yeah, Bankotsu don't worry about it. It's just Inuyasha being Inuyasha."

"The fight sounded pretty serious to me…" Although his tone sounded worried, his facial expression didn't match.

"Oh, no, we bicker all the time. Really, it's no big deal."

Bankotsu paused briefly. "Gome, are you sure nothing has ever gone on between you and Inuyasha?"

"…Gone on?"

"Have you guys ever liked each other in a more than friendly way?" Noticing her incredulous expression, he continued. "And acted on it?"

Kagome almost wanted to laugh because the notion was so absurd, but because she was still simmering from her argument with Inuyasha and Bankotsu was asking her this question with genuine seriousness, she stifled her laughter. "Oh _gods_ no. Me and _that_ guy?! Never in a million years. He is immature, childish, selfish, and I just know him all too well—like the back of my hand. Give me a scenario and I could tell you exactly what he'd do."

"I had to ask; he reacted so violently to you leaving him for the day that I couldn't help but think—"

"Inuyasha reacted the way he did because he's selfish, and he relies on me even if he doesn't want to admit it. He doesn't have many people he counts on in his life, so it came as a big shock for me to ditch him for the first time ever I guess…" The more she spoke, the guiltier she felt. "We're kinda like each other's best friends you know. Our friendship just balances out in weird ways." Another pang of guilt. "But maybe I should have told him that I was planning to leave… I'm sure that as my boss, I owe him that courtesy at least…"

Bankotsu sat quietly as Kagome reasoned out loud to herself, aware that the girl was figuring out her conflicting emotions in front of him.

"I guess I could have handled the situation a little better…" Kagome paused for a moment and shook her head, then looked up at Bankotsu. "Ugh, what am I doing?! Here I am on a wonderful date with you and I'm just rambling on about Inuyasha. Can we please change the subject? I'll deal with him later. Don't let me mention him anymore today! I'm going to actually _enjoy_ my day off!" She resolved.

"As you wish," Bankotsu smirked and offered her his arm. They continued to stroll down the sidewalk, looking for a place to grab a small bite to eat.

The rest of the day was perfect, as days like these always are with a guy like Bankotsu. They found a quaint little café to eat in, and walked to a nearby lake and strolled around the park until the sun set. Then, when the night settled in, Bankotsu brought her to another little café to get some hot drinks to warm the two of them up in the cold night air. He opened the door for her, he offered her his jacket, he paid for all the food and had an endless amount of options for what to do with their day.

And yet, the entire day, Kagome could never completely shake off the guilt weighing down on her chest, and only a couple hours later, she was unable to recall the names of the café and lake they had visited.

* * *

"Thank you for dropping me off, Bankotsu. I really should make sure he isn't too angry at me." Kagome said as Bankotsu's car pulled up into the driveway of Inuyasha's home. Kagome's car was parked there since she had driven there earlier that morning.

"It's no problem at all. I had a lot of fun with you today," he grabbed her hand and brought it up softly to his lips. "Do tell Inuyasha that I'm sorry for stealing you away for the day. I'll try not to let it happen again." He winked.

Kagome smiled warmly and blushed as she felt his lips graze the skin of her hand. "I had a lot of fun too. Drive safely, okay? I'll see you soon."

She got out of the car, and as she was walking towards the front door to the house, Bankotsu swiftly exited his car and gripped her by the wrist, whirling her around to land softly on his chest.

"You know, I have been trying to find the right time to tell you this all day without sounding completely cheesy and it just hasn't worked, so I'm just going to come right out and say it. You are… so beautiful. You literally take my breath away."

Kagome inhaled a sharp breath. Her heart raced loudly in her ears.

"Would it be alright if I kissed you goodnight?"

She barely nodded before his lips descended on hers in a chaste, but sweet kiss. Her eyes fluttered closed, and before she knew it, the warmth from his mouth was gone. He smiled his same cocky smirk, but the overconfidence was lost behind the expression. She could tell he was nervous, but happy, and the fact that she shared those emotions only brought her up higher.

She was elated. Floating.

"Goodnight, Bankotsu." She quickly pecked him on the cheek and watched him get into the car and drive off. She turned around to complete her trek to Inuyasha's front door and touched her lips softly with her fingertips. A heated blush quickly rose to her cheeks.

"Eeeep!" She squealed quietly to herself. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

* * *

Inuyasha raced down the moment he heard a car in his driveway. He knew Kagome would come to apologize about earlier today, and he was really going to make her sugarcoat it after pulling that stunt. He was still mad, damn it. How dare she make him small talk and pretend to care about what the Thunder Brothers and Myoga were saying?! If he wanted to be a people person, he would've done so a long time ago.

Faintly, he heard, "would it be alright if I kissed you goodnight?"

When they kissed, he turned his eyes away and resisted the urge to hurl. Really? First the school, now his house? Was _anything_ sacred anymore? Then, once he knew Bankotsu had sped away, he peered through the peephole of the door.

"Eeeep! Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!"

The expression on Kagome's face when she turned around had changed his entire mood. He was so ready to make her grovel at his feet for ditching him and promise to cook him ramen for the next month.

But now, he wasn't so angry anymore. If anything, he felt a bit guilty for reacting the way he did earlier.

"Goddamn wench. Why'd she have to go and look so fucking happy?"

Kagome began tinkering with her keys in order to find the one that opened the front door. Inuyasha heaved a long sigh and leapt up the stairs, knowing she would come to his room to talk. He didn't want her to think he had been waiting for her, or worse, spying on her. She would never let him hear the end of it!

He lay in his bed and pretended to flip through the channels of his television. Kagome entered moments later.

"Inuyasha?"

"Yeah," he answered gruffly.

_Might as well say it first. Lord knows he won't be the one to… _"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have ambushed you with that today the way that I did. As a friend and as a manager. That wasn't fair to you."

"Keh. Don't worry about it. The day's over anyway."

Kagome blinked. Once. Twice. "That's… it?"

"What do you mean that's it?!"

"You're not going to yell? Curse? Make me grovel at your feet and apologize and promise to cook you ramen for a whole month?" She walked up to his bed and put a hand on his forehead. "Are you feeling alright? Are you a bit under the weather?"

His eye almost twitched at how accurately she had predicted his initial response. Was he really that predictable? "How badly do you think of me anyway?! I think I am pretty damn generous when it comes to you!"

"Now _that's_ a little more like it. Phew, I thought you were beginning to go all softie Yashie-poo on me."

"Keh. Stupid wench. Go to sleep already," he barked. "We got shit to do tomorrow and I'm not waiting for your ass to finish getting ready."

"What are you talking about?! I'm always done before you!" She grabbed a pillow from his bed and hurled it in his face. "I better see you up and at 'em tomorrow morning then!" She stormed out of his room and began to head down the hall to where her room was. She honestly needed to end her lease at her apartment since she stayed so much at Inuyasha's anyway.

Before she made it all the way down the hall she heard Inuyasha say to himself, "Keh, not when you're trying to get all that make-up on your face in the morning."

She didn't know if he had intended for her to hear that or not, but what surprised her most was that he knew what exactly was different about her that morning.

"Hmph! Same difference, my butt."

* * *

A/N: I tried to make this longer since I made the wait for this chapter so long. I'm trying to write longer chapters, but if you all don't mind the length of the first four then I'll keep it around the same length.


	6. An Old Friend

Chapter Six: An Old Friend

It seemed that since the two weeks following their hooky date and first kiss, Kagome and Bankotsu had been inseparable.

If she had the late night munchies and Bankotsu was still awake, he would suggest a place they could go to grab a bite to eat. If he knew she was in the area, he would either try to meet her or drop some small snack off for her to eat. He called her during the day whenever they both were free to talk, which was usually when he was taking a lunch break and Kagome was in the limo with Inuyasha, on the way to Inuyasha's next obligation. The limo phone conversations quickly stopped after a few days though, only because she couldn't ignore the icy glare Inuyasha would give her during her entire conversation with Bankotsu.

In fact, she had been staying at her apartment more now, just so she wouldn't have to deal with Inuyasha's heightened hearing while she was on the phone with Bankotsu at night. She knew her friend was feeling a bit neglected, even though he wouldn't admit it, and to stay in his home and talk on the phone with her almost-boyfriend seemed a little bit like rubbing salt in the wound. Kagome resolved it was best to keep a little distance between Inuyasha and Bankotsu.

"What would you like to drink, babe?"

Kagome, disrupted from her train of thought, looked up at Bankotsu from her seat. They were at the same café they went to on their first date, only this time, she actually remembered the name. Shikon Café had become their go-to spot.

"I think I'll get the ginger tea, please," she told him with a smile.

"You said last time that you've been meaning to try chrysanthemum, right? Do you want that instead?"

"Oh yeah! You know what, I'll have that instead. Thanks for reminding me, Bankotsu!"

He walked a few steps then turned around after remembering something. "Two teaspoons of honey, right 'Gome?"

Her smile widened. "That's right."

She took out her phone quickly while Bankotsu ordered their drinks.

'_#2: remembers the little things.'_

* * *

"Hey, Inuyasha! We're here!" Miroku, Inuyasha's best male friend and Sango's boyfriend, and Sango called out from the first floor near the front door. They had stopped by the actor's house to pay him a visit. Instead of going out and hanging out, the trio had opted to spend time at Inuyasha's mansion in order to avoid the aggressive fans that would no doubt push and shove the two friends aside to get to the famous actor.

An hour later, the three friends found themselves in Inuyasha's game room. Miroku and Inuyasha were pressing the buttons of their game controllers furiously.

"So how has everything with you career been going, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, his eyes never once leaving the television screen.

"Good," Inuyasha's actions mirrored Miroku's. "I just finished up shooting the rest of the scenes for that movie with Koga… What's it called? Oh yeah," _click click click_, "_Vengeance of the Wolf Tribe_. Ha! Got you again!"

Miroku closed his eyes and his eyebrow ticked slightly. "I'm a bit rusty, alright? We don't all have time to sharpen our videogaming skills when we have ordinary 9-5 jobs."

"Someone sounds like a bitter Betty…" Sango sung out from behind the two boys, comfortably reclining on a plush seat.

"_Sango_! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Inuyasha snickered. "You gotta call 'em like you see 'em. Rematch?"

"You're on."

Another hour passed.

"You're _really _lucky we aren't playing for money."

_Sigh._

"This is an off day, alright?"

_Sigh_.

Inuyasha scoffed. "Give me a break. It's more like an off lifetime."

_Sigh._

"Play me again! I'll show you!" Miroku retorted hotly.

_Sigh._

"You wanna put money on this?"

_Sigh._

"Next one."

_Sigh._

"What, no confidence in your ability?" Inuyasha laughed mockingly. "Watch me whoop your ass this round too!"

"_Siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiigh_."

"Sango," Miroku admonished. "We heard your past 50 sighs. There's no need to actually say the word after you've made the sound that many times."

"Honestly," Inuyasha chimed in. "It's getting a little old, but you do it so periodically that it's becoming really easy to tune you out."

"Ugh I'm tired of being in this damn room with you idiots! I'm so _bored_!" Sango whined. She was ready to rip the hair out of her head. "Where in the world is Kagome?!"

"Yeah, Inuyasha. She wasn't here last week either."

He shot the two a glare. "Will everyone stop asking me about her whereabouts?! First the staff and now you guys. You all have her number!"

Sango persisted a little. "Well, do you know if she'll be dropping by later?"

"Hell if I know," Inuyasha said, already focusing on the videogame. "She's been a little busy lately."

Neither Miroku or Sango missed the sneer in his voice and the glower on his face.

"Well…she's still doing her job isn't she?" Sango started. "It'd be unlike her to just drop _everything_…"

Inuyasha's phone vibrated on the table next to him. _Speak of the devil. _It was a text from Kagome: '_#2: remembers the little things._'

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, his scowl deepening. "But that's _all_ she's doing."

* * *

Inuyasha placed the bouquet of lilies at the foot of the gravestone. It read: _Rest in peace_ _Izayoi Takahashi, beloved mother, wife, sister, daughter, and friend. _His mother was buried next to his father, Inutaisho Takahashi, a beloved father, husband, son, leader, and friend. At the foot of his old man's grave, he placed a box of dark chocolates, a guilty pleasure of his father's when he was alive.

Inuyasha was immensely grateful that his parents were buried in his mother's small, remote hometown that he himself was raised in, which was a couple hours' drive from the hustle and bustle in Tokyo. He would hate to have to encounter fans during his monthly visits to them. Even if they meant well, he really preferred to be alone when visiting his deceased parents.

The only other person who wasn't directly related to his family that had been here was Kagome, but it had taken some time for him to even tell her where he disappeared to the first Sunday of each month. Having her there had been comforting, but this time he was happy to be alone.

"Hey mom. Hey pops. Just dropping by. I brought you both your favorites. I, uh, have a new movie coming out next week. Hopefully you can take a peek at it. It's with that stinkin' wolf again, but he and I usually don't do so badly in the box office together so I can't complain a ton.

"I hope you're doing okay. I miss you both," Inuyasha said quietly. Before he bid them goodbye until the next visit, he lingered around the cemetery a bit longer. He surveyed his surroundings. Past the cemetery, he could see the grocery store and old breakfast diner. A bit further down he could see the elementary school he went to, then the middle school was past that, and lastly the high school. He saw all the homes of his old friends, looking almost the same though some were a bit worn with time. What he couldn't see, he could imagine. He could vividly recall the home that he grew up in, the bump in the sidewalk on the way to school that he always happened to stub his toe on, his favorite branch in the tallest tree of the park by the community pool.

_What would it be like? To live in a quiet town like this again?_

He shook his head and exited the cemetery. He headed towards his car, slightly more at ease for the first time in weeks.

"Inuyasha?"

His head snapped around at the familiar voice. "Wh-what are you doing here?"

The girl laughed and put a hand on her hip. "I mean, I only live here. Come here and give me a hug, you big dope! I've missed you!"

He obeyed his old friend's command and walked forward to embrace her tightly. "How have you been?"

"Better," she said truthfully. "I've thought about you. Came to say hi to your parents every now and then."

"Thanks for that," he murmured into her hair.

She pushed away from him a little and looked up at him with a smile. "You know, I actually had planned to head up to Tokyo tomorrow for some business. I was going to pay you a surprise visit, but I didn't expect to see you here today."

"So that means you'll be making yourself _real_ comfortable at my mansion tomorrow," he noted dryly.

"Mansion?" The girl scoffed. "More like a humble abode. Have you seen my place? Puts yours to shame!"

They both laughed, knowing that no house in this town was even half as large as his in Tokyo.

"So I'll be seeing you tomorrow?"

His friend smirked and gave him a wink. "Well, it's not like you have better plans."

"Cocky as ever, but I can't say you're wrong," he remarked. "Alright, you know where to find me."

* * *

A/N: sorry for the wait for this chapter! I will try to make updates more frequent before summer is over. Also, I promise this is an InuKag fic… Ugh I'm just waiting until I can move this relationship along a little… Any guesses as to who this mystery friend is?! Review with your ideas! ^_^


	7. New Plans

Didn't proofread, because I wanted to get this out to you all ASAP. Hopefully it isn't too bad.

* * *

Chapter Seven: New Plans

"Hey, Kaede, where's Inuyasha?"

"Hello, dear, it's been a while since I've seen you! He's up in the game room."

Kagome blushed in apology. "I'm sorry, I've been busy—"

"No need to apologize or explain, Kagome," the maid said with a warm smile. "Inuyasha's grumbling is self-explanatory."

"He's such a brat, isn't he? I'll go and find him, Kaede, thank you." She walked up the stairs and towards the game room. _I hope Inuyasha isn't too mad… It's been a while since I've seen him but it's not like I don't support him in all his relationships! So he really doesn't have a right to be that mad with me!_ As Kagome neared the room, she heard Inuyasha and a female voice arguing within. Were Sango and Miroku here too? She missed them last week, so if she got to see both Inuyasha and their friends then Kagome was more than glad.

Kagome opened the door. "Hey Inuyasha! Hey Sa—"

_Not Sango._

Inuyasha blinked in surprise and paused his game. "Kagome, what are you doing here?" Then, as if he remembered his anger with her, his face hardened and mouth curled into a sneer. "Don't you have a date with Bastardkotsu?"

"Inuyasha! Don't be so rude." The girl next to him slapped his arm lightly. "Where are your manners? Introduce me to your friend!"

He shot the girl next to him an icy glare. "Kagome, this is Nazuna. She's an old friend from my hometown. Nazuna, this is Kagome. She's my manager."

"And best friend," Kagome quipped, "but he's probably too angry with me to mention it."

"Sounds like the Inuyasha I grew up with," Nazuna laughed. "Here, have a seat! There's plenty of room."

"Thanks, Nazuna." Kagome smiled at the girl and took the seat beside her. "So what brings you to the city? Nikko is a bit of a drive from here isn't it?"

"Yeah, but for my business, I'd do a whole day's worth of driving!"

"What kind of business do you do, Nazuna?"

"I make ceramic pieces—pots, plates, vases, figurines, you name it. I come up to the city every now and then if I've got big buyers interested in my work or a special client. The flea market at home brings in money but it never hurts to expand my clientele."

"That's so great," Kagome smiled. "You get to do what you love and make money from it."

"The struggling artist cliché is very much real," Nazuna laughed, "but you are right, I love it. So it is always worth it." She spared a glance down at her wristwatch. "Speaking of which, I have to go meet with a client soon! What are you doing tonight Kagome?"

"Oh, I'll be having dinner with my boyfriend—"

"We should all go out and eat!" Nazuna suggested enthusiastically as she gathered her things. "I'll be driving back home tonight and we barely got to talk. Besides, I'm pretty sure Inuyasha owes me dinner."

Figuring that Nazuna had no real knowledge of Inuyasha's feelings toward Bankotsu, aside from his little "Bastardkotsu" earlier, Kagome looked at the half-demon warily. "Inuyasha..?"

"Keh." Though he desperately wanted to decline, Inuyasha didn't want to make a fuss over some little dinner. Plus, Nazuna would be there and that would probably make the whole ordeal a lot easier. "Why not?"

If only he could sound more convincing.

* * *

Dinner wasn't half bad.

Oh who was he kidding? It was that bad.

Nazuna had shown up a little bit late, and so Inuyasha played the part of the third wheel until her arrival. He was seated across from the couple who were trying to act platonic in order not to make him feel uncomfortable.

He was pretty sure he still felt uncomfortable.

It was just plain weird to see Kagome with another guy, especially in a romantic setting. Not that he was jealous, but because he was used to the Kagome that hung out with him—the one that wasn't constantly tiptoeing around his "jealousy" (more like her perception of it), the one that wasn't secretly dying to hold Bankotsu's hand and flirt with the damn bastard, the one that would probably be laughing with him at the poor shmuck seated two tables away from them or reprimanding him for something he had done earlier in the day.

The Kagome across from him? Nothing close. How had they gone from best friends to awkward acquaintances so quickly?

Oh, right. She hadn't been there for the past few weeks.

"Nazuna! Hey, over here!" Kagome waved to the girl as she walked in. Inwardly, Kagome breathed a sigh of relief. The three of them had been sitting in near silence for the past ten minutes.

"Bankotsu, this is Inuyasha's friend, Nazuna. Nazuna, this is my boyfriend, Bankotsu."

"Hi, nice to meet you," Nazuna shook Bankotsu's hand and sat down next to Inuyasha. "So have you guys ordered food already?"

"Oh, no, we were waiting for you. Take your time looking at the menu." Kagome smiled.

"Thanks!" Nazuna opened the smooth leather book and her eyes quickly scanned the items. "What have you all been up to?"

"Well, I was just about to ask Inu—"

"Hi everyone, I'm Rin and I'll be serving you tonight. Is everyone ready to order?" The young waitress greeted, not realizing she cut Bankotsu off.

After Rin took each of their orders and gathered all the menus, Nazuna turned to Bankotsu. "So what were you saying before you got so rudely interrupted?" She laughed.

"I was just about to say… Since the Demmy's are next week and I wasn't sure what Inuyasha's plans were, I was wondering if it'd be alright if I stole Kagome for the day."

Kagome looked at Bankotsu in surprise and her eyes quickly flashed to Inuyasha. As if things weren't uncomfortable enough already, Bankotsu had to go and ask _this_ of Inuyasha. _Well I guess there isn't really a good time to ask anyway._ Kagome attended the awards ceremony with the half-demon actor each year, and it was an event that they both enjoyed together. Now since she was with Bankotsu and he would be attending as well, it only made sense that he would want to go with her. _But still…_

"You steal her for everything else so why doesn't this surprise me, bastard?" He muttered to himself.

"What was that?"

Raising his voice, he replied. "Keh, you don't need my permission."

An awkward silence followed. Kagome was surprised that Inuyasha was being nice—or what was considered nice for Inuyasha—about Bankotsu's request; Bankotsu was debating between thanking Inuyasha and being nonchalant about the whole thing; and if Nazuna could sense the tension, she certainly didn't show it.

"Well," Nazuna started, breaking the silence, "since you're dateless and I am going to be bored to death in Nikko, why not bring me?"

"Keh. Why not?"

Though she wouldn't admit it out loud, Kagome felt something very akin to disappointment at Inuyasha's last two responses.

Dinner was awful.

* * *

The week passed by quickly. Kagome went with Inuyasha earlier that week to get his suit fitted one last time for the Demmy's and the notion that she wouldn't be going with Inuyasha occurred to her vaguely.

But today, on the day of the awards ceremony, as she stood next to Bankotsu, it felt much more real.

Shouldn't she want to be here with her boyfriend?

He looked perfect. His suit fit wonderfully; he was groomed to perfection. He was the master of small talk and introduced her to all his writer and director friends. He had been nothing but courteous and thoughtful so far, pulling out her chair, getting her a drink, guiding her with his hand on the small of her back, resting at the perfect line between friends and lovers. The night was perfect, too. The food, the drinks, the atmosphere. Everyone looked gorgeous, and even Kagome had to admit she was right up there with the rest of them.

The perfect date, the perfect night, the perfect ensemble. What could possibly be wrong?

"…like I was telling Kagome the other day. Right, Kagome?"

"Huh? Oh right, right." She tried to nod with conviction and reintegrate herself into the conversation. "Oh look, Inuyasha and Nazuna just walked in! I think I'll go say hi, if you'll excuse me." She gave a polite nod to Bankotsu and his friends.

Grateful to have gotten away from the conversation that seemed almost identical to the nine before them (small talk could really wear a girl out and that's all Bankotsu had done), she ambled over to where Inuyasha and Nazuna were standing.

"Hi Inuyasha! Hi Nazuna!"

"Oh hey Kagome! Wow, you look stunning!"

Inuyasha gave her a nod of acknowledgment.

Kagome blushed in delight. "Nazuna, please. You look absolutely beautiful." And she did. Her short brown hair was pinned back in a neat updo, and she wore a long, strappy green dress that hugged her curves in all the right ways.

"Oh, little me? I'm just arm candy for the big, bad actor over here," she joked.

"You know, Inuyasha, you wear half-grumpy pretty well."

"You two better not be tag-teaming me!"

There was a murmur among the crowds of people from the movie industry. "I think everyone is getting seated," Nazuna said. She turned to look at Inuyasha. "Should we get going?"

"Yeah, we probably should head in. Have a good night, Kagome."

"Yeah, well I should probably go find Bankotsu anyway. Enjoy yourselves."

Inuyasha nodded once in her direction and walked towards the tables where people were slowly getting seated, Nazuna in arm.

"Tell Bankotsu I said hi!" Nazuna called over her shoulder.

Kagome found Bankotsu waiting for her by the entrance to the main room. "Hey, beautiful. Got a date?"

She tried to laugh at his lame attempt to flirt with her. Her laugh sounded so empty. "Silly boy. By the way, Nazuna says hi."

Once inside and seated, Kagome looked all around the room. Bankotsu was already busy small talking with his friends at their table and she didn't care to be part of their conversation. She found Inuyasha and Nazuna only a few tables away from where she was.

She saw Nazuna whisper something to him and him begrudgingly crack a smile. _They look like they're having fun…_

The disappoint simmering below the surface increased tenfold.

Kagome knew exactly what was wrong.

* * *

A/N: I know I said 1-2 weeks and this is a week or so late /)_(\ Bear with me! I won't abandon any of my stories on here, but sometimes I have dry spells and there isn't much I can do… So did anyone think it would be Nazuna?! If I write with Kikyo, I would like to keep her in character, and the characteristics of the old friend just didn't seem very Kikyo-like to me. So in comes Nazuna!

I tried to pack this chapter with a bit more action since I kept you all waiting. Hopefully you're anxious for more! *fingers crossed* Are you guys dying like I am to just have Inuyasha and Kagome together already? The agony! Let me know how you felt about this chapter—your reactions to who Inuyasha's mystery friend was ;) or the shift in their relationship :( Review please!


End file.
